The Teacher
by Yuuki no Yuki
Summary: *I blew into this world on a leaf.* She was always the Echo. She knew this. Understood this. But she was different a Time-Lord. The Teacher. *I'm still blowing.* She had more mental fortitude than her predecessor could ever hope to achieve. If she wanted she could take control. Push her memories to the forefront. It would be so easy. *I don't think I'll ever land.* But no...
1. The Teacher

**A/N:** So this is written in the wake of the newest DW episode "Listen" for those of you who haven't seen it, I suggest you turn tail and run. As this fic takes quotes _**directly from** _the episode. And while it probably won't spoil the plot too much for you-you'll just be really confused-it's better to be safe than sorry in the case DW ;)

This is really just a one-shot that sort of jumped into my head after Clara's line of "isn't it bad if I meet myself?" taken in conjunction with her _instant_ reaction at the end of the episode I couldn't help but get to thinking that our little Time-traveler seemed to have a good grasp of the ever evasive 'Laws of Time' and so sought to explain it 'cuz...why not?

The second chapter isn't really story, just a list of my compiled "Laws of Time" based on info I've found lying about. Most of it (excepting the first law) is complete hogwash, and a large portion-excepting the names of the Laws-is taken verbatim from other websites. But I did flesh it out a bit. So if you're feeling extra nerdy you can go read my head-cannon of the Laws the Doctor so often breaks.

* * *

><p><em>I don't know where I am. I just know I'm running. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places.<em>

Oswin Oswald. Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Current status: crashed and shipwrecked somewhere…not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good, but keen to move on.

_I'm born, I live, I die. And always, there's the Doctor. Always, I'm running to save the Doctor, again, and again, and again. And he hardly ever hears me. But I've always been there._

"Oi, don't try to run away. Stay where you are."

Why would I run? I know what's going to happen next and it's funny.

"Remember this. This right now, remember all of it. Because this is the day. This is the day. _This_ is the day everything begins."

_Right from the beginning. Right from the day he started running._

I was going to travel. I came to stay for a week before I left and during that week…I keep the book because I'm still going.

_Once you start running, you start to forget; slowly, after a while, you just stop asking. Who are you? Where are you from?_

Still hungry? Well, I brought something for you. This. The most important leaf in human history. It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me. This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An Infinity. All the days that never came.

_What set you on your way and where are you going?_

To you I haven't been born yet, and to you I've been dead a hundred billion years. To you I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing.

_Oh…and what is your name? _

I don't want to forget, not all of it. The Library. I saw it. You were mentioned in a book. You call yourself "Doctor"—why do you do that? You have a name, I saw it.

_You get used to not knowing._

The only reason I'm still alive is because I do what the Doctor says. I trust the Doctor.

_I don't know where I am._

Hello. I'm Clara. We haven't really met yet.

_I don't know where I'm going, _

We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero…be a Doctor. You told me the name you chose was a promise.

_Or where I've been. _

What was that promise?

_I was born to save the Doctor, _

You've been asking a question, and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name…his name _is_ the Doctor. All the name he needs. Everything you need to know about him. And if you love him—and you should—help him. Help him.

_But the Doctor is safe now._

You asked me if you were a good man. And the answer is, I don't know. But I think you try to be. And I think that's probably the point.

_I'm Clara Oswald._

When did you stop believing in everything?

_I'm the Impossible Girl._

Listen. I know you're afraid. But being afraid is all right…Fear can make you kind. Fear's like…a companion. A constant companion, always there. But that's okay, because fear can bring us together. Fear can bring you _home_…fear makes companions of us all.

_And my story is done._

l**X-X-X**l

Pain. Searing pain. Radiating from the center of the forehead and branching backwards.

_I don't know who I am._

A million thoughts flitting in and out, in and out, but always out of reach.

_I don't know Who I am!_

Like water slipping through ones fingertips, _there _yet not. Drip. Drip. Drip.

_I don't know WHO I AM!_

Drowning…deeper and deeper and deeper and _Memories! _But of lives not lived; moments not yet experienced. Bubbling, boiling, threatening to overwhelm.

_I don't know…don't know…_

One name repeating over-and-over-and-over

…'_I'?_

A name; on the tip of one's tongue, a name well known, a name that makes sense. A name…

…_Doctor?_

An identity…

…_Clara?_

A life…

_Time Lord?_

And Black.

l**X-X-X**l

Pain. Searing pain. The same pain. But…less. No, not less, just…constant. There. A…

_Companion._

Slowly the memories filter back, like water through a pipe, slowly drip by drip.

_Your name is…_

But they make no sense, they contradict, they're not compatible.

_Oswin/Clara/Oswin/Clara_

Yet they _are_ compatible…a word…a term…

_Echoes_

A Teacher, a Governess, a Junior Entertainment Agent, a…

_Time Lord._

All these memories fighting for dominance, _pushing _and _pulling_ and stretchstretch_stretching._

_Teacher._

l**X-X-X**l

Order. Order is good. Order is logical. Order the memories. First…first…

_The First Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Introduction.'_

Confusion. This is not order. This is not logic. This is not…

_It forbids Time-Lords from meeting each other out of temporal sequence._

This is the…_Echo_, the _Echo _is not her, not her, _not _her.

_It especially prohibits Time-Lords from meeting former selves._

This rings false; a tingling, a memory, bursting to free itself…

_Three of you, and not one of you thought to try the door?_

No not a memory…a future memory…a past vision…a…

_The Third Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Causality.'_

…a fragment of a lost girl.

_This Law prevents _Gallifrey's _'present' from interacting with its own subjective 'past' or 'future.'_

Gallifrey; an impossible word for an impossible girl.

_This includes learning anything about _Gallifreyan _history, out of one's own temporal sequence._

Another broken rule. Another broken promise. Falling, falling, falling…

_London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my Fair Lady._

Fair? No, not fair. Never fair. Life's not fair.

_Failure to adhere to this Law risks unbalancing the Concept of Causality. _

She understands this. Why does she understand this? She _shouldn't _understand this!

_The Fourth Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Interference.'_

No more. No More. NO MORE!

_A Law that restricts Time-Lords from interfering with the development and History of another planet…_

Lies. Half-truths. Not-what-happeneds.

_Excepting to defend the _Laws of Time_ and to prevent alien aggression that is deemed threatening to the planet's indigenous population._

There it is. The loop-hole. _Alien Agression._ Her excuse.

_They are not to interfere for reasons of personal gain._

That's right, that's why she did it.

_They are not to interfere if in doing so they risk weakening the surrounding Timelines._

He was always breaking the rules…

_They are not to interfere if they sense an impending Paradox._

She just wanted to try.

_They are not to interfere if the outcome of the Causal Nexus has been previously decided upon by the High Council._

What use was all the knowledge in the world if never put into practice?

_They are not to interfere in any and all actions taken by the CIA (Celestial Intervention Agency) in an attempt to stabilize relevant Timelines._

So she followed his lead…

_They are not to interfere…_

She interfered.

l**X-X-X**l

She remembers now. (_Although logic and reason are still elusive.)_ She remembers her childhood.

_Some are Inspired. _

Eight years old.

_Some go Mad. _

Looking into Time itself.

_And some Run._

She didn't run.

l**X-X-X**l

She's young when she realizes she's a trouble-maker. A rebel. No-one tells her, and no-one has to. She can _feel_ the moment a her-who's not her-touches down.

_Rupert?_

Far away from her home in Arcadia. But crossing her Timestream none-the-less.

_Oreson?_

She's too young to realize how many laws this has broken. Too young to question _why _the Council would allow this to happen.

_Hello?_

But not too young to recognize what this means for her future.

She's a trouble-maker.

l**X-X-X**l

Its years before she enters the Time Academy. And she has to beg and _beg _her parents to send her to the mountains.

_I swear to protect the ancient Law of Gallifrey_

She's a century behind _him_.

_With all my might and brain._

The boy she saw through Time.

_I will to the end of my days,_

A mere novice while he and his friends plot and scheme;

_With Justice and Honor,_

Pyruvians the lot of them.

_Temper my actions_

She can't quite shake the competitiveness.

_And thoughts._

Even if he never knows she's competing with him. Although he must suspect, she did join the Patrex Chapter after all.

l**X-X-X**l

She's there when he takes his name. Makes his promise.

_Never Cowardly or Cruel._

And the words ring true to her…no…

_Never Give Up; Never Give In._

More than that, they seem to _resonate _with her, and a golden thread floats by…

_If you're very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly._

A loop in time, a Paradox waiting to happen…

_Fear can make you kind._

And she makes her own promise. Silently.

_Doctor!_

She promises to help him. Guide him. She's responsible for his promise. She doesn't know how, but she can _feel_ her timeline intertwine with his.

_You don't run out on the people you care about. _

It's who she is, who she _was _and who she will _always_ be.

_Wish I was more like that._

So when the Time comes for her to take her own name. It's no question.

_I was born to save the Doctor._

One who _guides_ and _protects_, and _above all _**Listens**.

_The Teacher._

l**X-X-X**l

She doesn't see him for many years. Through her Patrex connections she learns to make sense of her 'visions.'

_Time is ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-whimey stuff._

It's so hard. She's not a runner. She was never a runner. But when it comes to him she has no choice…

_Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places._

She studies the Laws of Time over-and-over-and-over again. Committing them to memory. Internalizing them. Laughing at how often _he _flippantly abuses them.

_You should never pass into your own personal Timeline. Except for cheap tricks._

She can't be so flippant. She didn't run. She didn't go mad. _Inspired_ they call her. She can see _so far_ and help _so much. _She just laughs.

_Then they went to war, and it changed them right to the core…_

Such 'gifts' are a curse.

_You weren't there in the final days of the War._

Her 'gift' does allow for one good thing though.

_You never saw what was born…_

She was never blind to her race's hypocrisy.

_The Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. _

So yes, she studies the Laws of Time over-and-over-and-over again. But not so she can obey them, oh no. She's the Teacher, she understands better than anyone that in order to _get around_ the rules, you first need to _know them_.

l**X-X-X**l

It all came around one day. She wasn't supposed to be there.

_Doctor!_

She was meant to be leading the new initiates to the Schism in a couple of hours.

_You're making a mistake._

But then she saw _him, _running in circles with his granddaughter hot on his heels.

_You don't want that one._

And a golden-thread flew by;

_I wanted to see the Universe so I stole a Time-Lord and ran away._

And she _knew. _This was how she could help him. _He _was just a 'madman and his box.' And while _she_ could be a right cow at times the Universe needed the two to steal each other.

l**X-X-X**l

She was charged of course. Brought before the High Council and accused of deliberately _flouting _the Laws of Time.

_I don't know where I am. _

Sentenced to the highest possible punishment.

_It's like I'm breaking into a million pieces and there is only one thing I remember: I have to save the Doctor._

Death without regeneration.

_He always looks different. _

She always hated regeneration.

_I always know it's him. _

To be _you_ and yet _not, _to have all their memories and yet not understand their responses, to not understand yourself…it would drive her mad.

_Sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once, running every second just to find him._

But it was better than the fate that awaited her.

_Just to save him. _

Better to regenerate. To change face, and taste, and opinion but keep _essence,_ than to look exactly the same but forfeit what matters most.

_But he never hears me. _

Memories.

_Almost never. _

Experiences.

_I blew into this world on a leaf. _

She was always the Echo. She knew this. Understood this. But she was _different_ a Time-Lord. _The Teacher. _

_I'm still blowing. _

She had more mental fortitude than her predecessor could ever hope to achieve. If she wanted she could take control. Push her memories to the forefront. It would be _so easy._

_I don't think I'll ever land. _

But it's not for a teacher to lead. They stand in the back. Instruct, guide, and then _let go._

_I'm Clara Oswald._

Watch as their pupil takes flight. But they don't abandon them. Oh no. The Teacher would never abandon anyone.

_I'm the impossible girl._

She could see enough of the future to know that her promise would be kept.

_I was born to save the Doctor._

She just may need to leave a little cheat-sheet behind…

l**X-X-X**l

Clara woke with a start, sweat pouring from her face. She was having that dream again; the one about clocks and numbers _1, 2, 3, 4, 5. _She could never recall enough to make any sense, only the vague feeling that it was _important._

She never told the Doctor; worried he would think she had gone mad after her trip through his Timestream, or worse tell her she _had_ gone mad.

There was the guilt too. She didn't want to make him feel any worse about the situation than he already did. He tried to hide it, but Clara dealt with children enough to know when someone felt guilty about something.

No, she would just ignore it for now. It was probably nothing. And anyway, she hadn't seen the Doctor in three weeks since he left her in Glasgow so it's not like she could tell him if she wanted to.

Yes ignore it. That's the best plan. Except…

_The First Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Introduction.'_

Sometimes when the Doctor was talking extra fast, and trying to be particularly clever…

_The Second Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Paradoxical Possession.'_

As if to distract Clara from what he was about to do.

_The Third Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Causality.'_

The feeling from the dream would come back.

_The Fourth Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Interference.'_

As if to remind her of something, as if to bring her attention to something…

_The Fifth Law of Time is known as the 'Order of Concatenation.'_

"Doctor? Isn't it bad if I meet myself?"

"And in those moments," Clara decided as her hand instinctively shot from under the bed, "it's best to just follow the feeling."

_Shush. This is all a dream._


	2. Laws of Time

**First Law of Time:** Order of Introduction

_A Law that forbids, as it is generally impossible, Time-Lords to meet each other out of temporal sequence; specifically prohibits Time-Lords from meeting former selves._

* * *

><p><strong>Second Law of Time:<strong> Order of Paradoxical Possession

_A Law that disallows the possession of an object from a non-existent timeline in the current timeline, as such a possession is paradoxical in and of itself._

* * *

><p><strong>Third Law of Time:<strong> Order of Causality

_A Law traditionally preventing _Gallifrey's _'present' form interacting with its own subjective 'past' or 'future.'_

_This includes learning anything about _Gallifreyan _history, out of one's own temporal sequence._

_Including, but not limited to, reading historical texts from one's own subjective 'future.'_

_This Law is relevant to all Time Sensitive Species and their indigenous planets._

_Failure to adhere to this Law risks unbalancing the Concept of Causality._

* * *

><p><strong>Fourth Law of Time<strong>: Order of Interference

_A Law that restricts Time-Lords from interfering with the development and History of another planet, excepting to defend the _Laws of Time_ and to prevent alien aggression that is deemed threatening to the planet's indigenous population._

_They are not to interfere for reasons of personal gain._

_They are not to interfere if in doing so they risk weakening the surrounding Timelines._

_They are not to interfere if they sense and impending Paradox._

_They are not to interfere if the outcome of the Causal Nexus has been previously decided upon by the High Council._

_They are not to interfere in any and all actions taken by the CIA (Celestial Intervention Agency) in an attempt to stabilize relevant Timelines._

_They _are_ to interfere if the planet shows signs of developing (TST) Time Sensitive Technology; if the indigenous population shows signs of ascending-that is evolving into Time Sensitive Beings-they are to immediately bring this to the attention of the nearest CIA agent._

* * *

><p><strong>Fifth Law of Time:<strong> Order of Concatenation

_A Law that allows Time-Lords to travel and freely observe moments that are in Flux._

_They may not travel to a Fixed Point._

_They may not view the Actualization of a Fixed Point._

_They may not attempt to alter a Fixed Point-such actions are meaningless, impossible to Actualize, and run the risk of Fracturing Time._

_It is the duty of a Time-Lord to insure a Fixed Point remains undisturbed by all; including the actions of another Time-Lord._

_Similarly a Time-Lord may not attempt to alter the outcome of a Causal Nexus of a being prior to their Actualization of a Fixed Point. Doing so runs the risk of creating a Parallel Universe._

_Thus a being destined to become a Fixed Point may not leave their Personal Timeline prior to their Actualization-excepting in cases where Time-travel is a necessary pre-requisite to said Actualization._

_They may not alter the outcome of _any_ Causal Nexus that forms relevant to a being that has travelled through Time after their Point of Deviance from their personal Timestream. Doing so risks the creation of a Parallel Universe, or in cases of a Complex Temporal Sequence, an Alternate Universe._

_They may not alter the outcome of _any_ Causal Nexus that forms relevant to themselves prior to that moment in their temporal sequence even if they can manage such without crossing their Timestreams. Doing so runs the risk of Wounding Time and creating a Paradox._

_They must attempt to __prevent__ and __correct__ all Paradoxes they come across-excepting those purposely created by the High Council, or those being monitored by the CIA._

_They must prevent Time Travel by all Non-Time Sensitive Beings._

_They are to check the qualifications of all Time Sensitive Beings utilizing the Time Vortex, if said qualifications are-in anyway-lacking they are to escort said being to the nearest CIA agent._

_Above all a Time Lord must work to secure the integrity of the Time Vortex and subsequent Timelines they enter or cross._


End file.
